A Kansas man who is alleged to have stolen nearly $100,000 from an elderly victim in Arlington through a foreign telephone lottery scam was to be returned to Massachusetts on Thursday, Aug. 20, by the Arlington Police Department, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone and Arlington Police Chief Fred Ryan reported.

Leone, Ryan, and other area police chiefs had issued a public advisory that warned residents of the lottery scam in November and continued to investigate the matter since that time.

"This defendant targeted elderly and vulnerable residents, promising them hundreds of thousands of dollars in winnings that he never intended to provide," Leone said, according to a Aug. 19 news release from his office.

"These lottery scams are extremely difficult to trace back to an individual, and I want to commend the outstanding investigative work of the Arlington Police Department in this case."

Chief Ryan said: "This was a time-consuming and complex investigation that led to the arrest of a leader in this international lottery scam. We will continue to go to extraordinary measures to protect and restore Arlington victims."

Lt. Robert Bongiorno called the case "very complex case that involved outstanding detective work.

In an e-mail Aug. 20, he wrote: "The detectives working with the Kansas authorities were able to uncover phone records, wire receipts linking Kinney to the Arlington victim. After Kansas authorities executed a search warrant on the suspect's house, police uncovered more evidence (which I can't disclose at this point).

"He is scheduled to arrive at Logan International Airport at 7:44 p.m. today."

In this scheme, it is alleged that the defendant called an elderly Arlington victim, telling her that she had won a lottery in Jamaica. He then told her that in order to claim the winnings, she had to pay the taxes on the prize money. In this case, the victim sent multiple checks totaling approximately $93,000 to an address in Kansas.

Arlington police, working with Kansas authorities, were able to effectively trace the telephone number used to contact the victim, as well as the Kansas shipping address, to this defendant. The defendant was in custody in Kansas on an unrelated matter and, upon posting bail, was placed under arrest on July 13 for the Massachusetts warrant.

The investigation continues into whether there were other victims of this scheme.

Leone and Ryan continue to warn residents, particularly seniors, about the dangers of these telephone lottery scams. Typically, the lottery scam is conducted by a third party who contacts a victim by phone and convinces the victim that they have won a lottery. The party than tells the victim that before they can claim their winnings, they must first pay taxes on the prize money, which is usually in the tens of thousands of dollars. After the victim mails the check, the subject informs the resident they should wait until a fictitious date, when the supposed “winnings” will be awarded.

The winnings are never sent.

"We continue to warn people never to send money to anyone who has contacted you that you do not know, especially when that person has a foreign address," District Attorney Leone said. "If you believe that you have been a victim of this or a similar scam, we urge you to contact your local police department."

If you have been contacted by someone who has told you that you have won a foreign lottery, please contact your local police department immediately. Also, if you recognize that you have been contacted by the following phone numbers, please report this to your local police:

1-876-397-5452

1-876-894-3554

1-876-486-2159

1-620-365-8465

These charges are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

The prosecutors assigned to this case are Assistant District Attorney and Chief of the Elder Protection Unit Marian Ryan and Assistant District Attorney Elisha Willis. The case was investigated by Arlington Police.

This story was first published at 4:20 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, and updated after that.